In Sweden, a preschool has decided to stop referring to children as 'him' or 'her' to avoid gender stereotypes.

The Egalia preschool, in Stockholm, has attempted to engineer equality between the sexes from childhood. The taxpayer-funded school also carefully plans the colour and placement of toys and the choice of books to assure they do not fall into stereotypes.The school opened last year and is on a mission to break down gender roles - a core mission in the national curriculum for Swedish pre-schools.

'Society expects girls to be girlie, nice and pretty and boys to be manly, rough and outgoing,' says Jenny Johnsson, a 31-year-old teacher.

'Egalia gives them a fantastic opportunity to be whoever they want to be.'

At the school, boys and girls play together with a toy kitchen, waving plastic utensils and pretending to cook.Lego bricks and other building blocks are purposely placed next to the kitchen, to make sure the children draw no mental barriers between cooking and construction.

Books that deal with homosexual couples, single parents or adopted children are also standard here.

Director Lotta Rajalin notes that Egalia places a special emphasis on fostering an environment tolerant of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. Rajalin says the staff also try to help the children discover new ideas when they play.